Agern, Amada, 'Āina And More Hot Restaurants Open

16 restaurants to add to your must-try list

New York City

Amada: Philadelphia-based chef and restaurateur Jose Garces has brought an outpost of his flagship restaurant to lower Manhattan. The menu has some new additions, like squab with rhubarb and morels, and a large-format roasted pig. The team is also opening Amadita, a café next door that will convert into a wine bar in the evenings. Find Amada here, or in our DINE app.

Agern: Danish Renaissance man (restaurateur, food activist, cookbook author) Claus Meyer opens his first New York project, a Nordic-meets-New York restaurant in the bustling Grand Central Terminal. Diners can order chef Gunnar Gíslason's dishes à la carte or through the restaurant's two tasting menus, one of which is vegetarian. Look out for lunch service in a couple of weeks and breakfast a few weeks after that. Find Agern here, or in our DINE app.

Delaware and Hudson Tavern: While the original restaurant is tasting menu only, this spin-off has an à la carte menu and a retail area for chef Patti Jackson's baked goods, like pretzels, pies and doughnuts. Find Delaware and Hudson Tavern here, or in our DINE app.

Bill's: Curt Huegel's channeling the past at this new restaurant in the old Bill's Gay Nineties space in Midtown East. It looks a bit like an old steakhouse, and the menu isn't terribly far off with raw bar and steak sections, a few chicken dishes and pan-roasted branzino. Find Bill's here, or in our DINE app.

Los Angeles
M Con: Try scallion bun sandwiches filled with braised pork belly or lemon-ginger chicken served with a soy dipping sauce at this casual Taiwan-inspired restaurant. There are also bowls (because: 2016) and genius-sounding turnip cake fries. Find M Con here, or in our DINE app.

Bondi Harvest: Channel Sydney's Bondi Beach at Santa Monica's latest addition. The menu leans more breakfast with pumpkin buttermilk pancakes served with avocado, nut brittle and blueberries, but there are also tartines and veg-heavy bowls. To drink, sip on smoothies and coffee, available via nitro. Find Bondi Harvest here, or in our DINE app.

Howlin' Ray's: The team behind Nashville hot chicken truck Howlin' Ray's recently opened the doors of their Chinatown brick-and-mortar location, and the crowds have been flocking. There are lots of chicken options—and heat levels—so diners can mix and match or just order a whole bird. And on weekends, you can pair the chicken with some waffles. Find Howlin' Ray's here, or in our DINE app.

Honeybird: If you prefer your fried chicken a little more mild, there's La Cañada Flintridge spot Honeybird, which focuses on fried fowl and sides, like Brussels sprouts with burnt pork belly ends and a healthier kale-and-quinoa option. Get your bird also in sandwich form, stacked between pimento cheese, cider slaw and Fresno chile. Find Honeybird here, or in our DINE app.

Birdies: And for midnight fried chicken cravings, there's Birdies, which is open 24 hours a day on the weekends and specializes in fried chicken and doughnuts from Mabel's Jason Harley. Just like at Honeybird, the fried chicken can be stuffed into a sandwich. The "original" has coleslaw, cheddar, pickles and buttermilk ranch mayo, and there's also a spicy option with ghost pepper mayo and pepperjack. Find Birdies here, or in our DINE app.

San Francisco
Itani Ramen: Chef Kyle Itani travels to Japan once a year, and now he's putting those years of hands-on learning to good use with this ramen shop around the corner from his upscale diner Hopscotch. Shareable starters, like gyoza, mini rice bowls and fried pig ears, round out the noodles he's making by hand. Find Itani Ramen here, or in our DINE app.

'?ina: It seems like all the best places start as pop-ups, Jordan Keao's popular Hawaiian brunch spot included. The restaurant's name means "that which feeds us," and you'll surely feel the aloha after a morning of kalua pork belly and taro French toast, made with bread shipped overnight from the Big Island. Find '?ina here, or in our DINE app.

Homage: Lunch is already a bright spot in your day, but this new Financial District hot spot will make it a beacon. The menu highlights a different farm every two weeks, so it goes without saying that the menu will be full of fresh, hyper-seasonal options. Check out the opening menu if you're into garlic scapes, spicy arugula and Valencia almonds, and leave room for a honey-lime sticky bun on your way out. Find Homage here, or in our DINE app.

Chicago
Smack Shack: With its first location outside of the Gopher State, the beloved Minneapolis seafood restaurant is on course to prove that Midwest may be the best coast. After diving into lobster guacamole, king crab dip and ramp butter-topped mussels, you might be convinced. Find Smack Shack here, or in our DINE app.

Washington, D.C.
Barley Mac: Sure, there are 100 types of whiskeys at this new Arlington bar, but there are also truffle fries and creamy chicken pappardelle. With the open kitchen and airy street-facing windows, you'll have a pleasant view no matter where you and your Yamazaki choose to sit. Find Barley Mac here, or in our DINE app.

Ottoman Taverna: He already has French and Italian restaurants, and now Turkish chef Hakan Ilhan is celebrating his homeland's cuisine with this third spot. The menu skews traditional, with kebabs, hummus and köfte, and the walls echo Turkey as well, complete with a Hagia Sophia mural and evil eye decor. There are more than 20 regional Turkish wines offered by the glass and, of course, Efes on tap. Find Ottoman Taverna here, or in our DINE app.

Detroit
Atomic Chicken: They didn't even have to remove the giant chicken from the roof of Clawson's now-closed Faym-Us Chicken and Seafood. It's now this takeout-only poultry house with a self-proclaimed "chicken with an attitude" range of flavors from Indian to Japanese to Southern. Keep your eyes peeled for a second location this summer, fittingly in a former Detroit Popeyes. Find Atomic Chicken here, or in our DINE app.